Keeping Fit

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, increase cardiovascular health or simply stay fit, a heart rate monitor is one of the best investments you can make. Yes you can take your own pulse during a workout by placing two fingers over the carotid or radial arteries, but it’s definitely more convenient to just look down at your wrist without missing a beat…no pun intended. It’s important to know your heart rate as well as your training zone during a workout if you plan to get the most out of your session.

If you’re counting calories, a heart rate monitor that also calculates calories burned will be a better investment. These monitors include a calories burned feature that can help you understand the calories in - calories out concept a bit better. For example, if your typical 30-minute workout displays a total of 350 calories expended…you might second think ingesting that 350 calorie cream filled donut.

There are all sorts of heart rate monitors; from basic ones that just monitor your heart rate, to ones that can track your speed, distance and more. Prices vary from about $50 per unit to as much as $350. Choose the heart rate monitor that best suites your needs.

Here’s a link to some good heart rate monitors with reviews: Top Heart Rate Monitors

Do you eat for pleasure or do you eat for health? Are you overweight or are you fit? The answer to the first question will generally determine the answer to the second question. Most overweight people are emotional eaters. They eat according to their feelings and typically make poor food choices; choosing foods that are high in calories and saturated fats. Fit people on the other hand are strategic eaters. These people plan their meals and are more health conscious when making food choices. Fit people tend to look at food as fuel, eating according to what their activity level is or will be over the next three hours. They choose foods that offer the most nutritional value for the amount of calories contained; foods like lean proteins, healthy fats and low-glycemic carbohydrates.

The next time you eat…ask yourself why you’re eating what you’re eating. What you eat will make the difference of how you look, feel and even how long you live!

Who doesn’t want to live to see 100? I came across this article by accident and found it interesting. 12 Surprising Signs You’ll Live To 100

Summer is just around the corner, why not make this one your best! No more wearing the long baggy shorts and big t-shirts at the pool…BREAK OUT THE BIKINI! With three months left until summer, you still have plenty of time to get in shape.

Here’s what you’ll need for your three-month weatherization kit:

- Resistance training - Exercise with weights at least 3x/week to build muscle and burn fat.
- Cardiovascular exercise - Get that heart rate up for at least 30 minutes a day to help create a calorie deficit and burn stored fat.
- Healthy eating - Eat approx. 5x/day (small meals); a lean protein source with a low-glycemic carb.
- Calendar - Write down every week what you plan to do for activity; then cross it out once you’ve completed it.
- Food log - Enter into your journal every time you eat and drink; what, when, and how much.

You’ve been overweight for so long now…you can’t even remember what it’s like not to be. You say that you’ve tried “EVERY” diet and exercise plan and nothing works, but can you really, honestly say that you’ve tried??? Can you honestly say that you gave it your all? How long did you stick with your exercise plan? Were you consistent with it? Did you make weekly calendars with planned exercise activities? How long did you follow that “DIET”? Did you keep a food journal logging your daily nutritional intake, e.g., calories, protein grams, carbohydrate grams, fat grams, etc.? Did you eat small, sensible, frequent meals throughout the day (approx. 5-6/day)? Did you set goals…realistic ones? These are all habits you should be consistent with if you want to lose weight and change the way your body looks once and for all. So, if you’ve given up on the weight loss project…give it another shot, but this time I want you to give it your all. Just Do It!!!!

Calories are a measure of energy. Our bodies need energy to survive; to sustain life, to work, to exercise, etc. The energy our bodies require comes from the food (calories) we eat…food is our fuel. Just like automobiles need gasoline in the tank to drive, we need food in our tank to move. The problem is…most of us today overfill our tanks. We eat too many calories, more than our bodies require on a daily basis. We overeat! And when we overeat…those extra calories are stored as fat.

A good rule of thumb to follow when planning your meals is to eat according to your activity level. Ask yourself what you will be doing over the next three hours. If you’re going to be less active, eat less calories; more active, more calories. Here’s a link that will help you figure out how many daily calories you need to lose weight; How To Calculate How Many Calories You Need To Lose Weight

John Cloud is a reporter for Time Magazine. He wrote an article titled “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin”. If you don’t want to waste your time reading it, I will summarize it for you. In short, the article says that if you’re trying to lose weight…exercise won’t help. Mind you, he talks about exercise alone without changing eating habits. His article quotes different studies on exercising for weight loss and how none proved exercise helped with losing weight. However, the article doesn’t really talk about the type of exercise or exercise intensity; whether the studies involved aerobic, anaerobic, etc.

When it comes to losing weight, there are numerous studies showing that anaerobic exercise is more beneficial than aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise requires more glycogen (stored blood sugar) and aerobic exercise requires more oxygen, as far as the energy pathway goes. Weight lifting is a form of anaerobic exercise. Lifting weights, also known as resistance training, will increase muscle which in turn will increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), thus helping with fat/weight loss. So, I think it’s important to know what kind of exercise/intensity he’s referring to when he states, “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin”.

I can typically get my clients to burn between 300 and 500 calories in a 30 minute session of anaerobic/aerobic activity. For someone working out with my same intensity for three times a week this calculates to approximately: 900-1500 calorie deficit per week, 3600-6000 calorie deficit per month, and 46,800-78,000 calorie deficit per year. This can produce as much as 22 pounds of fat loss per year for someone that kept their calories the same as before they started their weekly workout routine; and much more for those who changed their eating habits and calorie consumption to fit their new found exercise program.

One of John Cloud’s excuses as to why exercise doesn’t help with weight loss is because exercise can make you hungry…causing you to eat more calories; more calories than your exercise session burns. Well, duh John…exercise requires energy…and food is energy. You just have to watch what type of food you put into your mouth. And if you’re wanting to lose weight and get healthier, why would you not want to refuel your body with the healthiest food available!

John, just because you exercise doesn’t mean you’re going to get “thin”. You have to be conscious of how you exercise, what you eat and how much of it you eat. You can’t walk on a treadmill while you eat a donut and expect to lose weight just because you’re doing some form of exercise. Just like you can’t expect to ever save money if you spend all you earn.

I wake up at 4:30am Monday through Friday every week. When Saturdays come around…I like to sleep in until at least 6:30am, but this morning I couldn’t. I woke up around 5am with someone on my mind. Is this “someone” you??

What’s it going to take to get you to lose that weight? I hear you complain about back pain and knee pain. I hear you talk about the emotional pain associated with being overweight. I see the depressed state you’ve allowed yourself to drop into. I see how much your weight affects your everyday life, but yet…..you continue to do nothing about it. What’s it going to take??? I feel your hurt and I share your tears, but it’s not up to me. The WANT is up to you!!! You have to REALLY want to change in order to make a change. It’s ALL up to you. So, are you going to continue to sit around on your butt feeling sorry and depressed! Or is today the day that you’re going to FINALLY say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Electrolytes are minerals (primarily sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate, and sulfate) that are essential to our bodies. They regulate cell, organ, nerve, and muscle function, blood pressure, blood pH and much more; yet they are probably the most neglected nutrients in people that engage in outdoor exercise/activities. Exercising outdoors can be dangerous, especially in this hot Arizona heat. Excessive sweating can cause an imbalance in electrolytes which could lead to a serious heat related illness; this is why it’s important to replenish lost electrolytes. Taking an electrolyte supplement is one way to replenish these vital minerals. They can be purchased at just about any health food/supplement location, e.g., Hi-Health, GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, etc.

This About.com article is a great resource for further reading “Hot Weather Exercise Safety”.

In my twenty years of being a fitness coach, I’ve seen too many individuals medicated by their physicians for conditions that, in my opinion, could have been treated with exercise and proper nutrition; Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and so forth. Rarely do I receive a new client that has first been prescribed exercise and/or a healthy eating plan by their doctor.

While many doctors are prescribing medications to combat conditions that can be treated with exercise and proper nutrition, Dr. Gupta is recommending something healthy…EXERCISE and NUTRITION. You can read his quest for a “Healthy Nation” here, Join Dr. Gupta’s ‘Four Months to Fitness’ initiative!